#248: Top VC Takes / Accounts, Unique Perspectives

Yesterday, Pavel Prata published a post called “These 15 accounts will make you a better investor.” We were surprised — and grateful — to see @TheFundCFO included alongside builders, operators, and thinkers we’ve long respected.

“These 15 accounts will make you a better investor. Not by giving you stock picks. But by teaching you how to think.”
— Pavel Prata on LinkedIn

We don’t take that lightly.

@TheFundCFO started with a simple goal: help GPs operate like the best in the business — especially when it comes to building funds that LPs can trust. That means fund mechanics, capital flows, reporting, structuring — and just as importantly, learning how to communicate clearly with your investors.

If you’re an emerging manager looking to stand out with institutional LPs — or a GP navigating your second or third fund with more complexity than ever — this newsletter is for you.

In short: we want to help GPs build LP-trusted funds.

So in the spirit of Pavel’s post — and in a moment of reflection — here are a few principles that guide everything we share:

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🧠 What we believe

1. Make the back office your strategic edge.
Your ops stack, audit readiness, and capital flows deserve the same precision you bring to sourcing and investing. Most funds underinvest here. That’s the opportunity.

2. Speak the LP’s language.
Liquidity. Alignment. Net return timelines. If your pitch doesn’t meet LPs on their terms, someone else’s will.

3. Lead with clarity.
We write like LPs are reading — because they are. There’s no alpha in ambiguity.

4. Play the long game.
Headlines are noise. What matters: consistency, auditability, and alignment across cycles. Tactical alpha requires strategic patience.

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If you’ve been reading for a while, we’re incredibly grateful. Your questions and conversations make this sharper every week. And if you’re new here — welcome. This is where we put our best thinking for GPs building with intention.

While we follow and learn from most of the folks on Pavel’s list (and recommend you do the same), we want to recognize three voices that have shaped our thinking in particular:

• Chris Harvey — A consistent and trusted voice for emerging managers. Chris brings clarity to fund formation and structuring that’s grounded in real-world execution.

• Samir Kaji — Few people map the GP/LP landscape with more depth and nuance. Samir's frameworks around allocator expectations and platform strategy are must-reads.

• Hunter Walk — Hunter writes with founder-first empathy and LP-aligned realism. He understands incentives, power dynamics, and how they play out over time.

It means a lot to be in the same conversation as people like this.

Thanks again to Pavel for the kind mention — and to all of you who’ve shared, replied, and helped push this work forward. We’ll keep aiming to make every issue worth your time.

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🛠 Tools to Navigate Small Fund Strategy

If you're an LP evaluating smaller GPs—or a fund manager sharpening your pitch—our premium toolkit was built to help you raise smarter, underwrite more clearly, and plan for real outcomes.

Each resource helps you model fund returns, benchmark DPI vs. carry, and visualize how small changes in structure impact outcomes for LPs and GPs.